Of the Night
by Lia Harkness
Summary: A series of Drabbles that focus on little snippets of Janeway and Chakotay during their late and early hours of the day- sleeping, insomnia and waking up.
1. Chapter 1

Chakotay's quarters were quiet and still in the night. The dim shine from the stars that sped past the porthole provided the only light, glancing off of his blankets, which rose and fell in time with sleep laden breathing.

The whole room shuddered as Voyager was hit and they fell out of warp. The movement was sudden; a frantic mixture of tangled limbs and covers as they jolted awake. He heard the chirp of the comm badge in his ear as his arms found their way around the one thing that mattered most to him.

"Janeway to Bridge; report."


	2. Chapter 2

He heard the doors to his Quarters swish open and her feet pad softly across the floor, trying not to wake him. Unsuccessfully.

"Don't tell me you've been in your Ready Room all this time?" She smiled at his groggy voice and sat beside him, running a hand lightly up his arm.

"I had work to do," she whispered, her breath dancing across his ear. He grunted in protest and rolled over, but she hushed him, planting a soft kiss on his tattooed temple.

"Go back to sleep, my Angry Warrior. I'll only be a few more minutes, I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

"You could have been killed, Kathryn. It's my job to keep you safe."

"No, your job is to make sure that the ship is safe when I'm not onboard."

"I wasn't talking about being your first officer." He reached for her hand but she pulled away.

"If _this_ is clouding your professional judgement, then we shouldn't be here."

"Kathryn..."

"Goodnight, Commander." The doors swished closed behind her.

That night, both were restless and couldn't sleep - not until she slipped back into his quarters and under the covers. As he wrapped his arms around her protectively, she murmured:

"I'm sorry."


	4. Chapter 4

Chakotay awoke sharply to a sudden, jabbing pain in his side.

"Did you just poke me?" He frowned down at the mass of tangled auburn hair beside him, amused as it stirred slightly.

"Stop snoring," she mumbled blearily, tugging the covers with her as she rolled over. "I have the early shift in the morning."

With a small chuckle, Chakotay pulled her slight frame towards him until her back was resting against his chest. Wrapping his arms around her waist and tangling his legs with hers, he brushed his lips across her neck and murmured in her ear;

"Aye, Captain."


	5. Chapter 5

"Kathryn? What's wrong?" With her back facing him, she could still have been sleeping. But she wasn't. He could tell she was crying. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Chakotay gently rolled Kathryn onto her back and gazed into her eyes, brushing away the tears.

"Kathryn?"

"It's my fault, I sent you on that away mission," was all she could manage before fresh tears tumbled down her cheeks.

"I'm alive, Kathryn." Ignoring the pain in his chest that remained from the blast, he pulled her towards him, allowing the sound of his steady heartbeat to soothe her back to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

"Put them down." Arms folded, Chakotay glared across at Kathryn, who was sat at her desk in her night gown.

"But B'Elanna-" He cut her off mid-speech, circling behind her chair.

"Will understand that her captain needs sleep, too. If she doesn't, I'll talk to her." He placed a feather-light kiss at the crook of Kathryn's neck, sending shivers down her spine. In her distraction, he pulled the padd from her grasp and deactivated the monitor. She sighed, but chose not to resist. He linked his fingers with hers, and guided her through to the other room.

"Computer: lights out."


	7. Chapter 7

The away team would only be gone a few more hours. Sixteen hours and twenty two minutes more. Eight of which she should be sleeping

Chakotay and the others had left for a routine survey of a binary star system. They had maintained full communication. There were no complications. But Kathryn couldn't sleep without him - her usual stress now amplified. The bed felt empty.

Sixteen hours and twenty minutes.

She gathered his pillow to her chest, draping her limbs across it. It still smelt like him. It was a poor substitute, but for now it would have to do.


	8. Chapter 8

Chakotay found two steaming mugs on the table when he entered his quarters, but, apart from her jacket draped over the back of a chair, there were no other signs of Kathryn. Ducking his head through the bedroom doors, he smiled at the sight of her sleeping, her legs still hanging off of the bed. Hers had been a long and difficult shift. Careful not to wake her, he removed her shoes, pips and communicator badge before tucking her under the covers. Chakotay collected his mug from the other room and settled beside her, stroking her hair as she slept.


	9. Chapter 9

_There isn't much that beats waking to the smell of coffee_, Kathryn thought as the bitter scent overwhelmed her. Blearily, she opened her eyes and accepted the mug being waved enticingly under her nose. She took a long, deep draught and sighed, slumping back against the headboard. As Chakotay slid back under the covers beside her he chuckled, drawing her attention.

"What?" she asked defensively.

"Sometimes I think you love coffee more than me." With a smirk, she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

"Nonsense, of course I love you more. You bringing me coffee, though, is a factor."


	10. Chapter 10

"You woke us up for this?"

"Us, Sir?" Harry asked tentatively.

"The captain is a lighter sleeper than I am. If you wake me, you'll rouse her too." Chakotay chuckled as he watched the younger man flush red, stuttering and stammering. The sensors had detected an asteroid belt that would mean extending course by another five months. Harry hadn't wanted to make that decision alone. Chakotay patted the ensign on the back in amusement, before turning back to the turbolift.

"Divert course and we'll pretend that this conversation never happened."

"Aye, Sir." Harry sank back into the captain's chair, mortified.


	11. Chapter 11

Chakotay found her on her ready room couch, her feet curled under the cushions. Her hair was ruffled, tumbling over her cheeks and obscuring her eyes. He crouched before her, brushing the red strands away before he planted a kiss to her forehead, whispering softly.

"Come to bed, Kathryn. You can't sleep here."

"What do you think I was doing?" She stirred quietly, slowly blinking the sleep away.

"Come to bed." He stood, holding out his hand. She clasped it tightly, conceding defeat, allowing him to lead her away from her work and back to the warmth of their quarters.


	12. Chapter 12

"Open your eyes, Kathryn, please, for me."

It made no sense. Nothing made sense anymore. They had been sleeping. He had been listening to her heart. And then it had stopped.

"For me, my love, Kathryn, please." Her fingers were cold in his. His mind was foggy. Nothing else mattered as he repeated her name.

Someone was speaking. Someone was shouting. Scared.

"Chakotay, wake up!"

Frantic, he started awake. Blue eyes filled with concern hovered above him.

"Kathryn," he clutched at her, relieved.

"It's okay," she murmured as he cried into her shoulder. "I'm here. It was just a dream."


	13. Chapter 13

"Good morning."

As she stirred leisurely, she became aware of Chakotay's arms wrapped around her waist, and his breath tickling the back of her neck. Then she blinked, alert.

"Did I sleep through the alarm? We're late, aren't we? Has the bridge called?" She tried to pull away but he only clasped her tighter. She heard him chuckle, adding to her confusion. "What?"

"Nothing's wrong, Kathryn. It's our day off." He shifted his hold so that he could meet her gaze and pressed a soft kiss to her lips to calm her. "We don't have to be anywhere but here."


	14. Chapter 14

"You keep your greasy mitts away from me."

"Excuse me?" Kathryn stopped a few feet away from the bed, raising her eyebrows incredulously. Chakotay glanced up from the padd he was reading to meet her eyes, an amused smile curling his lips.

"You've been in Engineering all day, you're covered in dirt." He nodded in the direction of the bathroom. "Go have a bath, I'll still be here when you come back."

She sighed, before trudging away. Chakotay returned to his padd, finishing it at the same time as she crawled into bed beside him.

"Happy now?" she asked.

"Very."


	15. Chapter 15

Chakotay was worried; Kathryn hadn't spoken since she woke up. But, after rigorous scans and painstaking analysis, the Doctor hadn't seen it as an issue, and had discharged her from Sickbay into his care. It was late, they were both tired. They needed sleep.

They moved around each other silently as they prepared for bed. He climbed in beside her and ordered lights out, but was surprised when she curled up readily against him.

"I love you," she murmured. "But don't ever do that to my ship again."

In the darkness, Chakotay smiled and hugged her tighter to his chest.


	16. Chapter 16

"Stop pacing and come to bed."

"Funny, I'm usually telling you that," Chakotay grinned. He crouched down next to her side of the bed, and began to stroke her hair softly. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Kathryn sighed, rolling her eyes. "Besides, I've coped without you before."

"But this time it's nine days. Last time it was only forty-eight hours. And we're together now."

"Well then, make sure you come home," she murmured, leaning forward to press her lips against his.

"Now," she pulled away and patted the mattress beside her. "Come to bed."


	17. Chapter 17

Lying awake, Kathryn thought of B'Elanna, alone with a newborn.

They had finally reached Earth, but Starfleet had chosen to segregate the crew, assigning quarters that separated even the couples. Kathryn felt more isolated than she had stranded in the Delta quadrant for seven years.

She jolted upright when her doors swished open unexpectedly, only to be met by the dimpled smile she loved so much.

"We're all doing it. I passed Tom on my way over." Chakotay slid under the covers, still grinning. "They can't court martial everyone."

"They can," she murmured, curling up beside him. "But they won't."

* * *

_Note: This is the end here, at least for the foreseeable future. I wrote this right at the beginning when I started this series, so perhaps my style has changed in that short amount of time. Either way, thank you to everybody who has taken the time to read and review, to everybody who followed or favourite. You never know... another bout of insomnia may inspire a whole new wave of chapters..._

_Thank you all, again,_

_Lia_


End file.
